[Temple to Table] Crunchy taste of the sea

Seasoned dried sea lettuce with chili pepper bugak  (Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism)

Seasoned dried sea lettuce with chili pepper bugak

Every year in late fall Yeongseonsa staff trim chili peppers, the last harvest of the season, and prepare a generous batch of bugak by coating them with glutinous rice paste and drying them. Whenever the temple has an event, big or small, they deep fry this bugak, mix it with chili paste (gochujang) and grain syrup and serve. If you pan-fry dried sea lettuce (parae), which has the savory taste of the sea, and mix together with bugak, it will enhance any table.

Ingredients

Dried sea lettuce (parae) 50 grams

Chili pepper bugak 50 grams

Seasonings

Chili paste (gochujang)

Grain syrup

Directions

1. Tear off dried sea lettuce in bite sizes, fry in an oiled pan.

2. Deep-fry chili pepper bugak.

3. Put seasonings in another pan. When it gets hot, add the prepared sea lettuce and chili pepper bugak and mix well.

Fried burdock with seasoning (Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism)

Fried burdock with seasoning

The saponin found in burdock skin is good for vascular health and is said to help prevent cancer, so it is good eaten whole. Fried burdock has a sweet taste the more you chew, and if you mix it with soy sauce and grain syrup, you have a simple dish that is tasty and nutritious.

Ingredients

200 grams burdock (ueong)

30 grams roasted peanuts

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp grain syrup

Some cooking oil

Directions

1. Wash burdock and cut in half lengthwise. Thinly slice burdock diagonally.

2. Wash sliced burdock and drain completely.

3. Roast peanuts in an unoiled pan to golden brown and crush them coarsely.

4. Add soy sauce and grain syrup to burdock and mix.

5. Deep-fry burdock in 170 degrees Celsius cooking oil. Fry again after some time.

6. When the fried burdock is still hot, add soy sauce seasoning and mix well. Garnish with roasted peanuts.

Provided by Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism

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Temple food is food of the ascetics who express gratitude for all forms of life and wish for peace for the whole world. The Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism operates Korean Temple Food Center where guests can learn and experience temple food. -- Ed.


By Korea Herald (khnews@heraldcorp.com)